Dr Avinash Chander emphasised on the need to anticipate what disasters lie ahead because 'nature is not always predictable'.

The new chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, Dr Avinash Chander, on Wednesday said the impact of Uttarakhand calamity could have been reduced had adequate measures been taken by the authorities concerned.

In an interview to Headlines Today, the country's senior most military scientist said if weather radars had existed, the magnitude of the disaster could be much less.

"We could have planned much better for such a calamity if there were weather radars on ground," Chander said.

"It highlights the need for sensors at local/state level to detect micro-climate and forecast phenomena such as cloudbursts. Overall satellite picture doesn't give specific data required to forecast such disasters," he said.

Chander emphasised on the need to anticipate what disasters lie ahead because "nature is not always predictable".

"We have set up a special team to create Disaster Management Support System to aid in such situations, which will include communication equipment, UAVs and bridging equipment," he said.

The DRDO chief's statement comes a day after Headlines Today quoted a senior official of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) blaming the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the huge loss of life.

The head of Geo Hazards at NIDM, Chandan Ghosh, had said that ISRO faltered by not issuing a warning on ice formation at the Kedar Dome Lake.